Tom Curtis

A Costa Mesa man remained in the hospital Monday in life-threatening condition, two days after he was attacked outside a convenience store early Saturday, police said. Fateh Farouk Abdeljalil, 22, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana after four men attacked him and 27-year-old Francisco Garnica of Santa Ana near the 7-11 at Harbor Boulevard and Mesa Verde Drive East early Saturday. The two groups exchanged words, police said. Police say the four Costa Mesa residents arrested ?

Red-light runners to get fines back Motorists who received citations for running a red light at one Costa Mesa intersection with be getting their money back and citations dismissed, police officials said on Friday. That's because they have realized that the yellow light at the intersection of northbound Newport Boulevard and 17th Street was shorter than required by state law based on the posted speed limit, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Tom Curtis said. The yellow light had been set at 3.6 seconds instead of the required 4.3 seconds, he said.

Deepa Bharath Police in Massachusetts arrested a 79-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of inappropriately touching two Costa Mesa girls 12 years ago, officials said. The girls, sisters who were 5 and 7 years old when police say the crime occurred, between October 1991 and October 1993, complained to Costa Mesa Police in May that Charles Joseph Pauley engaged in lewd conduct with them, officials said. After an investigation, officers obtained a warrant for Pauley, who was living in Contuit, Mass.

A Costa Mesa transient is scheduled to appear in court today on charges he was wildly attacking people with a shovel at 17th Street and Newport Boulevard. Richard Dennis Woehler, 47, was arrested without incident Saturday evening in a gas station parking lot, only a short walk away from where police said just minutes earlier he had been attacking anyone near him. According to police, about 6:30 p.m. Woehler was armed with a 5-foot shovel and was trying to hit people with it as they drove, walked or rode by. Police said Woehler swung the weapon at two cars turning left onto 17th Street from Newport Boulevard and then charged at a man buying food in the Taco Bell drive-through on the corner.

Costa Mesa leaders Monday took a step in the right direction to help aid the city's police officers when they tentatively approved a law that evicts tenants convicted of drug- or gang-related crimes. The criminal eviction law, when it becomes official as early as April, will require landlords to evict tenants convicted of such crimes. When first proposed in May, the law would have evicted tenants who have been arrested on suspicion of such crimes, which places guilt on someone before his or her fate is given to a court or jury.

A San Diego man who police approached outside a Costa Mesa inn could face charges of bribery and lying to authorities after officials said he gave officers a false name and offered them money not to arrest him. Justin Curry, 27, was arrested outside of the La Quinta Inn, 1515 S. Coast Drive, Sunday morning after he told an officer there he was someone else, who by chance had a warrant out for their arrest, officials said. About 11:15 a.m., an officer who was investigating an unrelated case at the motel approached Curry and asked for his name, police said.

Alex Coolman COSTA MESA -- An attempted robbery Monday afternoon on Baker Street could be related to a drive-by shooting that occurred soon afterward in Santa Ana, police said. A man tried to rob a pedestrian in the 200 block of Baker Street at about 3:35 p.m., said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Tom Curtis. The robbery was foiled, however, and the suspect drove away in a white Honda without any of the victim's money. No one was injured in the incident.

Deirdre Newman While the kidnapping and death of a 5-year-old Stanton girl has received widespread media attention and focused parents on the safety of their children, it has also caused some kids to cry wolf. Last week, the Costa Mesa Police Department received a report that a stranger had tried to abduct a 9-year-old boy. After further investigation, the attempted kidnapping turned out to be a hoax, Lt. Tom Curtis said. False alarms such as this can divert police officials from more life-threatening matters, Curtis warned.

As officers continue to keep watch over a Costa Mesa neighborhood shaken by a fatal shooting Wednesday, residents are calling police with information about what may have happened that night, police said. Police said they're working all hours to find whomever killed one man and wounded four others in a drive-by shooting in an alley behind a Costa Mesa apartment complex in the 1300 block of West Baker Street. "Certainly, we've stepped up patrols in that area to try and keep peace if anybody's thinking about doing anything silly," Costa Mesa Lt. Tom Curtis said.

A Costa Mesa transient is scheduled to appear in court today on charges he was wildly attacking people with a shovel at 17th Street and Newport Boulevard. Richard Dennis Woehler, 47, was arrested without incident Saturday evening in a gas station parking lot, only a short walk away from where police said just minutes earlier he had been attacking anyone near him. According to police, about 6:30 p.m. Woehler was armed with a 5-foot shovel and was trying to hit people with it as they drove, walked or rode by. Police said Woehler swung the weapon at two cars turning left onto 17th Street from Newport Boulevard and then charged at a man buying food in the Taco Bell drive-through on the corner.

A San Diego man who police approached outside a Costa Mesa inn could face charges of bribery and lying to authorities after officials said he gave officers a false name and offered them money not to arrest him. Justin Curry, 27, was arrested outside of the La Quinta Inn, 1515 S. Coast Drive, Sunday morning after he told an officer there he was someone else, who by chance had a warrant out for their arrest, officials said. About 11:15 a.m., an officer who was investigating an unrelated case at the motel approached Curry and asked for his name, police said.

A Costa Mesa man remained in the hospital Monday in life-threatening condition, two days after he was attacked outside a convenience store early Saturday, police said. Fateh Farouk Abdeljalil, 22, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana after four men attacked him and 27-year-old Francisco Garnica of Santa Ana near the 7-11 at Harbor Boulevard and Mesa Verde Drive East early Saturday. The two groups exchanged words, police said. Police say the four Costa Mesa residents arrested ?

Two Costa Mesa men and a 17-year-old male were arrested early Saturday morning and booked on suspicion of attempted murder after a violent confrontation outside a 7-Eleven market in Mesa Verde, police said. Shortly after 1 a.m., the group got into a verbal dispute with two young men outside the mini-mart at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Mesa Verde Drive East, Lt. Tom Curtis said. The argument escalated into a physical fight in which the group struck Fateh Farouk Abdeljalil, 22, of Costa Mesa with a baseball bat and brass knuckles, Curtis said.

As officers continue to keep watch over a Costa Mesa neighborhood shaken by a fatal shooting Wednesday, residents are calling police with information about what may have happened that night, police said. Police said they're working all hours to find whomever killed one man and wounded four others in a drive-by shooting in an alley behind a Costa Mesa apartment complex in the 1300 block of West Baker Street. "Certainly, we've stepped up patrols in that area to try and keep peace if anybody's thinking about doing anything silly," Costa Mesa Lt. Tom Curtis said.

The city of Costa Mesa may add more cameras to snap pictures of drivers who run red lights, although officials still aren't sure how much money comes in from tickets issued using the cameras. The city's response to a May 31 Orange County Grand Jury report says Costa Mesa is considering more cameras, and the city also will take more steps to get drivers who are ticketed to pay. The Costa Mesa City Council was scheduled to vote late Tuesday on whether to send the response, which is required by Aug. 29. The 16-member grand jury examined red-light camera use in five cities -- Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano -- to evaluate their effectiveness in promoting safety and generating revenue.

Red-light runners to get fines back Motorists who received citations for running a red light at one Costa Mesa intersection with be getting their money back and citations dismissed, police officials said on Friday. That's because they have realized that the yellow light at the intersection of northbound Newport Boulevard and 17th Street was shorter than required by state law based on the posted speed limit, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Tom Curtis said. The yellow light had been set at 3.6 seconds instead of the required 4.3 seconds, he said.

Deepa Bharath Police in Massachusetts arrested a 79-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of inappropriately touching two Costa Mesa girls 12 years ago, officials said. The girls, sisters who were 5 and 7 years old when police say the crime occurred, between October 1991 and October 1993, complained to Costa Mesa Police in May that Charles Joseph Pauley engaged in lewd conduct with them, officials said. After an investigation, officers obtained a warrant for Pauley, who was living in Contuit, Mass.